Food and Nutrition in the News

Edible News

After watching several documentaries about our food supply and learning just how
deficient in nutrients the food we consume has become over the past 30-years, our
family has decided to make some serious changes. We are buying organic, eating in
season and buying locally. Our meat is grassfed, our bread in homebaked and I feel
good about what my family is eating.

An anti-bacterial agent called triclosan used in many hand soaps has been detected in increasing amounts in several Minnesota freshwater lakes, researchers say.

Scientists at the University of Minnesota say the findings are directly linked to the increasing use of such anti-bacterial soaps and other products over the past decades. The researchers also reported detecting chemical compounds called chlorinated triclosan derivatives, created when triclosan is exposed to chlorine during wastewater disinfection processes. When exposed to sunlight both triclosan and its chlorinated derivatives form dioxins that have potential toxic effects in the environment, they said.

Sugar-sweetened or diet soda may increase the risk of depression, but drinking coffee may slightly lower the risk, U.S. researchers say.

Study author Dr. Honglei Chen of the National Institutes of Health in Research Triangle Park in North Carolina said the study involved about 264,000 people ages 50-71 who drank soda, tea, fruit punch and coffee from 1995 to 1996. About 10 years later, Chen and colleagues asked the study participants whether they had been diagnosed with depression since 2000. A total of 11,311 depression diagnoses were made, Chen said.

Eating a high-protein breakfast with nuts may lead to being leaner and less hungry during the rest of the day, a fitness expert says.

Charles Poliquin said his single best dietary tip for optimal leanness, energy and sustained mental focus, is the meat-and-nuts breakfast, which allows for a gradual rise in blood sugar and results in decreased cravings throughout the entire day, AskMen.com reported. Examples of Poliquin's high-protein breakfast are one to two lean turkey burgers and a handful of almonds, a salmon omelet and a handful of walnuts, or two lean ground-beef patties and one handful of Brazil nuts.

As with any physical activity, the body must warm up so ease into snow shoveling, try not to do it all at once and take breaks, a U.S. cardiologist says.

Dr. Charles Davidson, clinical chief of cardiology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and medical director at Northwestern's Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, said before snow shoveling eat a small meal to provide a source of energy. However, digestion puts strain on the heart, so eating a large meal before any physical activity should be avoided. Additionally, alcohol and caffeine should also be avoided just prior to shoveling, Davidson said.

Marijuana possession is illegal on a federal level, the Justice Department said, even as Washington state's law decriminalizing possession went into effect.

"Regardless of any changes in state law, including the change that will go into effect on Dec. 6 [Thursday] in Washington state, growing, selling or possessing any amount of marijuana remains illegal under federal law," statement issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle Wednesday said. Voters in Washington and Colorado approved ballot initiatives Election Day that decriminalized the possession of as much as an ounce of marijuana by adults. The Washington state law was effective Thursday and Colorado's law will go into effect in the coming weeks.

Three staff members were injured in the flash fire at ENO, which broke out when a worker carried two 5-gallon soy sauce containers filled with gasoline through the kitchen. "I was pouring a round of Jack Daniels and the next thing I know the bus boy was on fire," bartender Adele Mackenzie told the New York Post.

At just 3.57 calories a piece, candy corn is a Halloween staple, but it hardly resembles corn and isn't the least bit healthy, a U.S. food expert says.

"Maybe it's time for a healthier candy corn," Phil Lempert, a food industry analyst, trend watcher and creator of supermarketguru.com, said in a statement. "Halloween accounts for 75 percent of the annual candy corn production and according to social media analyst NetBase, candy corn is the most talked about Halloween candy this year - both the good and the bad!"

A single junk-food meal - rich in saturated fat - is detrimental to the health of the arteries, researchers in Canada said.

Dr. Anil Nigam and colleagues at the University of Montreal-affiliated EPIC Center of the Montreal Heart Institute, compared the effects of a junk-food meal and a typical Mediterranean meal on the vascular endothelium, the inner lining of the blood vessels. Endothelial function is closely linked to the long-term risk of developing coronary artery disease.

During a power outage, an appliance thermometer is invaluable to test the temperature of food in the refrigerator and freezer, U.S. health officials said.

Officials at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in case of a power outage, the appliance thermometers will indicate the temperatures in the refrigerator and freezer to help you determine if the food is safe - the freezer temperature should be at or below 0 degrees F and the refrigerator should be at 40 degrees F or below. If the power does go out, keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature. A refrigerator will keep food cold for about 4 hours if it is left unopened. A full freezer will keep the temperature for approximately 48 hours - or 24 hours if it is half full - if the door remains closed, officials said.

Heavy consumption of caffeinated coffee -- three cups or more daily -- is associated with an increased risk of developing glaucoma, U.S. researchers say.

Study author Jae Hee Kang of Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston said the study involved 78,977 women from the Nurses' Health Study and 41,202 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Study participants were at least 40 years of age, did not have glaucoma and reported undergoing eye examinations from 1980 on for the nurses and from 1986 for the health professionals to 2008.